AirAsia Super App lands in Indonesia, completing its Asean presence

• Launched in Indonesia finally, AirAsia Super App also flagged off its ride-hailing service, airasia ride in Bali, with the key target market being international tourists.
• While it remains a task to break through the existing local super app space dominated by a few key players, AirAsia said it has a unique proposition in terms of their offerings.

While travel took its time to recover this year, Capital A Bhd, more commonly known as AirAsia, focused on its digitization efforts, its travel super app AirAsia Super App. This week, the digital arm of Capital A finally set foot in Indonesia, following its expansion throughout 2022.

After Thailand and the Philippines, the ride-hailing division of AirAsia arrived in its first Indonesian location, Bali. The entry into ASEAN’s largest populated country marked a significant milestone for one of the region’s fastest-growing travel apps, said AirAsia Super App’s CEO Amanda Woo during the launch. In 2022, the company intended to focus on its ASEAN expansion, while completing its footprint throughout Malaysia.

When AirAsia launched in Thailand and the Philippines in February and April respectively, it took a few months before its ride hailing services were launched. In Indonesia, AirAsia Super App and AirAsia ride launched simultaneously, allowing the group to focus on international tourists as its target market.

The entry into the Indonesian market “is expected to disrupt the local super app space as [AirAsia Super App] is the only one offering a fully integrated travel booking experience on one convenient platform,” according to a statement by the company. Woo also highlighted that the market within Indonesia “holds […] strong growth potential”.

Admitting that it could be a “Herculean task” to break through the existing local super app space, Woo is confident of the travel super app’s unique offering and different approach. Since 2021, Woo has consistently claimed that the group intends to collaborate rather than compete with other super apps for its expansion into Indonesia, although the launch on Wednesday did not mention any other names.

A collaborative approach was taken when they expanded into Thailand, whereby AirAsia Digital took over Gojek’s operations, and gave them a shareholding in the AirAsia super app. Then CEO of the AirAsia Group Tony Fernandes called the collaboration with Gojek, the most valuable technology company in Southeast Asia, “a dream come true”. In a LinkedIn post Fernandes stated “Gojek is one of my inspirations, the only unicorn in Southeast Asia that I respect. More importantly, this is the support of one of the smartest technology companies in Southeast Asia”.

While it appears AirAsia is going solo in Bali, they may collaborate with other companies when expanding around Indonesia. “No other super apps out there can truly say they are a travel super app and provide their users with a seamless end-to-end experience incorporating both the travel and lifestyle segments together in one platform,” Woo said.

According to Woo, they are the only travel super app platform that owns an airline, enabling them to leverage on their travel market and customer base. Hence, they have focused on growing their presence in key holiday destinations such as Bali. Recently, speaking to Tech Wire Asia, Woo stated that the super app has over 51 million users, a figure that is projected to double in four years.

 

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